Systems and methods for electronic fund transfers for use with gaming systems

ABSTRACT

Electronic fund transfer (EFT) systems and methods are disclosed for managing and transferring electronic funds from a patron&#39;s financial account to provide gaming or amusement credit in physical or electronic form. The systems comprise an electronic fund transfer (EFT) device, a secure payment gateway configured to connect to the patron&#39;s financial accounts via a financial network, a host system, and a funds management portal connected to the host system and to the secure payment gateway. The EFT device is configured to communicate with the patron&#39;s financial account via a secure connection to the secure payment gateway and to transmit instructions for transferring electronic funds from the patron&#39;s financial account to a credit system via the secure payment gateway and the funds management portal.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/156,444 filed on Jun. 9, 2012 and entitled “System and Method forElectronic Fund Transfers for Use with Gaming Systems” which claimspriority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/354,339,entitled “System and Method for Wireless Electronic Fund Transfers forUse With Gaming System” and filed on Jun. 14, 2010. The instantapplication is commonly assigned, claims the benefit of, andincorporates herein by reference in their entireties both of theapplications enumerated above. In this regard, in the event ofinconsistency between anything stated in this specification and anythingincorporated by reference in this specification, this specificationshall govern.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and a method for electronicfund transfers, and in particular to electronic fund transfers for usewith gaming systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, the primary method of transferring funds into a gaming deviceis through cash or cash equivalents, including “cash value tickets” andticket-in/ticket-out (TITO) tickets. Similarly, funds are transferredinto an amusement device through cash, “cash value cards”, game tokens,or coupons. The funds are usually converted into gaming or amusementcredits through a cash acceptance device such as a bill acceptor or cardreader associated with the gaming device. The gaming or amusementcredits are then exported onto cash value tickets or value on a card tobe used in a gaming or amusement facility. At the discretion of thepatron, the gaming or amusement credits can be redeemed and convertedback into cash. A ticketing system or a value card system is used toread the tickets, print tickets, or write onto the value card the amountto be cashed out at an external kiosk or cashier station.

A patron usually accesses funds in his financial account via an ATMmachine or cash machine. While playing a game, if a patron runs out ofcash and needs to access the funds in his bank account, he must stop theplay at the gaming or amusement device, find an ATM machine, extractcash, convert the cash into a cash equivalent (if necessary) and thenreturn to the gaming or amusement device, and if it is not alreadyoccupied, insert the cash or the cash equivalent into the gaming oramusement device to continue play. Many players find this interruptionin the gaming process not desirable, primarily because they don't wantto lose their gaming device or position. Therefore, there is a need fora more convenient way for the patrons to access their funds whileplaying in a gaming or amusement device without having to leave theirdevice or position.

An ATM or cash machine operates over an ATM network such as NYCE, PLUS,STAR, to transfer money from a cardholder's financial account to the ATMoperator's account. The ATM operator or the property owner of thefacility where the ATM is positioned and operated is responsible forloading the cash supply in the ATM, for the security of the cash, andfor the maintenance of the ATM machine. Normally an ATM is connected toan ATM network, which is then connected to the customers' financialaccount. Financial institutions and banks have signed contracts with theATM network to transfer money out of the customer's financial or bankaccount to the ATM network, and the ATM network pays the operator of theATM.

A gaming device that accepts cash or cash equivalent funds from apatron, holds the funds in the form of “game credits” while the patronplays at the gaming or amusement device, and enables the patron toretrieve his funds at any time. Therefore, gaming and amusement devicesdo not require the patron to input a wagerable or playable amount ofmoney in the gaming or amusement device each time the player wishes toplay a device. When the patron wins, the gaming or amusement devices donot require the patron to immediately take the winnings if the patrondesires to continue play. Furthermore, gaming or amusement devicesprovide a mechanism by which the patron can input and maintain a pool ofmoney (i.e., credits) or amusement credits of non-cash value in thegaming or amusement device to play many games of the gaming or amusementdevice. The gaming or amusement device can also accumulate and store thepatron's winnings. When the patron wishes to stop playing, the gaming oramusement devices provide a mechanism by which the patron can retrievethe money or non-cash value credits that remain in the pool.Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient fund transfer process to agaming or amusement device that does not include the inefficientconversion of funds from bank accounts to cash to credit. There is alsoa need for a fund transfer process to a gaming or amusement device thatdoes not require a large amount of cash in float in the gaming oramusement devices throughout the gaming or amusement facility. There isalso a need for a less costly way for providing funds forgaming/amusement purposes.

Problems facing the current electronic funds transfer systems includesecurity and fund transfer confirmation. Many regulatory agencies do notapprove electronic funds transfer systems that do not confirm the fundtransfer, i.e., there is no lasting evidence that a fund transfer hasoccurred. Therefore, the electronic fund transfer system needs toprovide such evidence so that electronic funds transfers can occur in amore secure fashion. Accordingly, there is a need to make a secureelectronic funds transfer system. A further need exists to provideevidence of the electronic transaction. A still further need exists toprovide a wireless electronic fund transfer system designed to place thefunds in the patron's hands rather than directly in the credit meter ofthe gaming device.

Further, in current gaming systems, because the transfer of money togame play is seamless, the gaming or amusement device is required tohave the ability to send and receive authorization information, realizean amount of money that has been transferred, convert the money amountinto a game or amusement credit amount, add or subtract an amount ofcredits that the player thereafter wins or loses and issue anappropriate cash out when the player desires. Accordingly, the gamedevice's processor handles the normal game accounting in combinationwith the electronic funds transfer accounting.

Card and/or ticket systems are also used in connection with gaming oramusement machines in cases where the gaming or amusement machines issueand accept cards and/or tickets in lieu of money. Such systems provide aworkable cashless system on a local or property level. The casinooperator redeems an amount of money from the card system for theassigned card and/or from the value imprinted on the ticket throughvisual inspection or via a ticket validation system. Card and/orticketing systems are advantageous because they reduce the amount ofcash transactions and the need for the patron to transport and holdlarge amounts of cash or coins. Consequently, ticketing systems havebecome common in most gaming and amusement jurisdictions. Variousmanufacturers produce these types of ticketing systems. These systemsrequire each machine to have a card reader and/or ticket printer.

The role of the card reader device and/or ticketing machines hasrecently been expanded to enable patrons to redeem the card value and/orticket at a gaming or amusement device. As before, the card and/orticketing system issues cash out card credit to the card system and/orticket in response to a patron's cash out request. In the expanded role,the cash out card and/or ticket includes information that enables thepatron to present the card and/or ticket to a cashier or redemptionmachine, as before, or to re-insert the card and/or ticket into a gamingor amusement device configured to accept card and/or tickettransactions.

In this expanded role, the card and/or ticket accepting gaming oramusement devices must now contain a card and/or ticket reader as wellas the card system communication and/or ticket printer. In the expandedsystem, the cash out card communicates with a local card system whichtracks date and time of cash out credits for the identification card andthe ticket typically contains a barcode, a written ticket amount, thetime and date of printing, a numerical representation of the barcode,and other identification and validation information specific to theproperty. To redeem the card and/or ticket for its cash or non-cashvalue, the patron either presents the card and/or ticket to the operatorwho validates the card and/or ticket and pays the patron an amount ofmoney or prizes, or the patron inserts the card and/or ticket into acard and/or ticket-ready gaming or amusement device whereby the gamingor amusement device provides the patron with a number of credits equalto the amount represented by or encoded in the card system or on theticket.

The controllers of the card and/or ticket-ready gaming devices areadapted to coordinate with the card and/or ticket validation system. Forexample, when a payout is issued the card and/or ticket is inserted intoa card and/or ticket reader equipped in a gaming or amusement device,the ticket reader forwards information, which can be stored on a barcodein the instance of tickets, to the game's or amusement's controller. Thegame or amusement controller recognizes this information as card and/orticket information and forwards the card and/or ticket information to acard and/or ticket validation system outside the gaming or amusementdevice. The card and/or ticket validation system analyzes the cardand/or ticket information, and if the card and/or ticket is valid, thecard and/or ticket validation system provides the game or amusementcontroller with an authorization to credit the gaming machine with theamount represented by the credits in the card system or represented byencoded value on the ticket.

Alternatively, if the card and/or ticket validation system detects thatthe card and/or ticket is not valid, the card and/or ticket validationsystem instructs the game or amusement controller to reject the cardand/or ticket. The card and/or ticket validation system may also log thefailed attempt in a statistical database that will record theInformation for future reference.

Card and/or ticketing benefits each patron, not just those wishing toaccess funds from or near the gaming and/or amusement device. Gaming andamusement establishments have also become familiar with the card andticketing systems and their proven performance. Card and ticketingsystems are proliferating within the gaming and amusement industry.

Accordingly, a need exists for an electronic funds transfer system thateliminates the inefficiency of the intermediary step of having to use anATM cash machine to transfer money from a patron's bank account to agaming device. Furthermore, a need exists for an electronic fundstransfer system that utilizes the card and/or ticketing system'shardware and software as much as possible to avoid duplication of suchhardware and software in accounting for the transfer of the electronicfunds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides devices, systems, and methods forelectronic funds transfers that originate from a gaming or amusementdevice using a secure ATM-like terminal to withdraw money electronicallyfrom a patron's financial account and to transfer credit to a slot,table or amusement host system. The amusement host system then dispensesa confirmation of credit at the gaming or amusement device which can bea printed ticket of equivalent value or issued credit to a player cardconfirmed at the gaming device or credits the gaming device directly.The electronic fund transfer (EFT) system includes an EFT terminal thataccepts secure PIN based ATM transactions at a gaming device, a securepayment gateway that routes transactions to the ATM network, and asystem by which to route confirmation of funds to a funds managementportal with appropriate information on which gaming device is associatedwith the transaction. The funds management portal then connects to ahost system and the host system specifies at which gaming device toprint out the ticket or to which gaming device to credit the transferredfunds. Alternatively, the EFT system is used to transfer funds from thepatron's financial account securely to a prepaid debit card, which debitcard may be a player card issued by the gaming facility for loyaltypurposes. Such player cards can be used by the patron just like anyVisa, Master Card, or as an ATM card, and the player card can be used totrack the patron's spend and game playing and for the patron to earn“Free Plays” from the casinos and earn other rewards for using theircards while playing games.

In general, in one aspect, the invention features an electronic fundtransfer system for managing and transferring electronic funds from apatron's financial account to a credit system. The system includes acredit system configured to dispense credit to a patron via physical orelectronic credit means, an electronic fund transfer (EFT) terminal, asecure payment gateway configured to connect to the patron's financialaccounts via an ATM network, a host system connected to the creditsystem via a local network, a funds management portal connected to thehost system and the secure payment gateway, and means for transferringelectronic funds from the patron's financial account to the creditsystem via the secure payment gateway. The funds management portal isconfigured to account and reconcile the transferred electronic funds.All communications between the secure payment gateway and the hostsystem pass through the funds management portal. The EFT terminalincludes a secure client-side application for receiving instructionsfrom the patron for transferring electronic funds from the patron'sfinancial account to the credit system and means for transmitting thefund transfer instructions to the patron's financial account. The EFTterminal is configured to connect to the secure payment gateway and tocommunicate with the patron's financial account and to transmit theinstructions for transferring electronic funds from the patron'sfinancial account to the credit system via the secure payment gateway.

Implementations of this aspect of the invention may include one or moreof the following features. The physical or electronic credit means maybe TITO tickets, vouchers, chips, credits on a gaming device, credits ona remote electronic game, or credit to a player's card system. Thesystem may further include a gaming device configured to receive thephysical or electronic credit means. The EFT terminal may be a PaymentCard Industry (PCI) and Pin Entry Device (PED) certified device. The EFTterminal includes a point-of-sale (POS) personal identification number(PIN) entry keypad, a payment card reader, a display, networkconnectivity modules, a printer, a printer port, secure mobileapplications and one or more EFT applications. The payment card readermay be a smart card reader, magnetic card reader, contactless cardreader, proximity mobile payments reader that enables communication withsmart phone devices or contactless proximity card reader that processessecure smart ticketing and electronic payments using contactless securemobile commerce technology. The means for transmitting the fund transferinstructions from the EFT terminal to the patron's financial account maybe secured wireless data network or secured wired data network. One ofthe EFT applications may be a patron interface application and thepatron interface application includes one or more fields identifying thecredit system to which the electronic funds are to be transferred, ATMnetwork, type of transaction, electronic fund amount to be transferred,date, time, name of host system, or name of patron. The funds managementportal includes a database with encrypted data, a communicationinterface to the secure payment gateway, a communication interface tothe host system, an operator patron application, a firewall between thefunds management portal and the host system, and a firewall between thefunds management portal and the secure payment gateway. The databaseincludes encrypted data for each electronic fund transaction and theencrypted data comprise at least one of EFT terminal ID, transaction ID,credit system ID, patron's name, host system's name, transaction value,date, or time. The secure payment gateway connects to the ATM networkvia a single, secure, access controlled connection. The connection isaccess controlled by an application privilege protocol and secured by anapplication security protocol and the application privilege protocol ismanaged by the secure payment gateway and comprises a first tableassociating Global Unique Identifiers (GUIDs) of EFT applications, ATMnetworks, and patron financial accounts available to the EFT terminal.The application security protocol comprises one of secure HTTP (S-HTTP),link encryption, or web services security (WS-S). The secure client-sideapplication comprises an application patron interface. The EFT terminalcomprises a communication device upon which the client-side applicationis executed. The EFT terminal may be a mobile phone, smartphone,personal digital assistant (PDA), payment module, portable computer,personal computer, server, or a computing circuit. The system mayfurther include a printer connected to the credit system and the printeris configured to print tickets and vouchers. The gaming device may be aslot machine, a table game device, a betting parlor, kiosk, poker, pan,pai gow, race and sports book, race track, pari-mutuel betting, keno,bingo, or an amusement device. The system may further include aplurality of EFT terminals and a plurality of printers connected to aplurality of gaming devices. The ATM network may be one of PLUS, STAR,CIRRUS, INTERLINK, MONEY PASS or NYCE. The network connectivity modulesmay be Bluetooth, infrared, optical, radio frequency, GPRS, satellite,wired, or wireless modules. The EFT terminal requests functionality fromthe secure payment gateway via one of Extensible Mark-up Language (XML)messages embedded in Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) requests,Action Script Message Format (AMF), or Secure Mobile ApplicationPlatform (SMAP).

In general, in another aspect, the invention features an electronic fundtransfer method for managing and transferring electronic funds from apatron's financial account to a credit system. The method includes thefollowing steps. First, providing a credit system configured to dispensecredit to a patron via physical or electronic credit means. Next,providing an electronic fund transfer (EFT) terminal comprising a secureclient-side application for receiving instructions from the patron fortransferring electronic funds from the patron's financial account to thecredit system and means for transmitting the fund transfer instructionsto the patron's financial account. Next, providing a secure paymentgateway configured to connect to the patron's financial accounts via anATM network. Next, providing a host system connected to the creditsystem via a local network. Next, providing a funds management portalconnected to the host system and the secure payment gateway andconfigured to account and reconcile the transferred electronic funds.All communications between the secure payment gateway and the hostsystem pass through the funds management portal. Next, connecting theEFT terminal to the secure payment gateway and communicating with thepatron's financial account and transmitting the instructions fortransferring electronic funds from the patron's financial account to thecredit system via the secure payment gateway. Finally, transferringelectronic funds from the patron's financial account to the creditsystem via the secure payment gateway.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method formanaging and transferring electronic funds from a patron's financialaccount to a credit system. The method includes the following steps.First, providing an electronic fund transfer (EFT) terminal. Next,initiating an application in the EFT terminal via a payment instrument,thereby causing the EFT terminal to send a request to a secure paymentgateway to connect to an ATM network of the patron's financial accountassociated with the payment instrument. Next, checking if the paymentinstrument is acceptable by the secure payment gateway, and if thepayment instrument is acceptable, sending a response to the EFT terminalcomprising a patron interface of the financial application associatedwith the payment instrument. Next, entering patron name and PIN in thepatron interface by the patron and sending the entered information tothe secure payment gateway. Next, sending a request comprising a GUID ofthe financial application associated with the payment instrument, patronname, patron's financial account and patron's PIN to an ATM networkserver. Next, sending the received request from the ATM network serverto a financial server of the patron's financial account. Next,confirming access to the financial application via the secure paymentgateway to the EFT terminal by the financial server and presentingavailable electronic fund transactions to the patron via the patroninterface. Next, selecting a desired electronic fund transaction by thepatron and entering electronic fund transaction details in patroninterface fields. Next, sending desired electronic fund transactiondetails to the financial server via the secure payment gateway. Next,processing the requested desired electronic fund transaction by thefinancial server and sending electronic fund transaction confirmation tothe secure payment gateway. Next, sending electronic fund transactionconfirmation to the EFT terminal and to the funds management portal bythe secure payment gateway. Next, transferring the electronic fundtransaction confirmation to a host system by the funds managementportal. Next, transferring electronic funds to a credit system by thehost system and printing a ticket indicating electronic funds transactedvia a printer connected to the credit system or crediting a specificgaming device. Finally, receiving the printed ticket by the patron andusing it in a gaming device or cashing it out. The payment instrumentmay be a payment card, smart card, magnetic card, contactless card,smartphone or a proximity card.

Among the advantages of this invention may be one or more of thefollowing. The invention provides a gaming or amusement device having anEFT system that employs existing card and ticket system hardware whereapplicable. The EFT system incorporates secure ticketing and bankingnetworks. Furthermore, the invention provides a method of electronicallytransferring funds to the patron for subsequent gaming or non-gaminguses. Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide areceipt to the patron so that the patron has a record or evidence of theelectronic fund transaction. The present invention provides convenienceto patrons and efficiency and cost savings to gaming and amusementfacilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overview diagram of the EFT system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the ACS funds management portal of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the EFT terminal of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the EFT terminal and the secure paymentgateway; and

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 depict the flow diagram of the EFT process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to an electronic funds transfer(EFT) system for transferring gaming credits to gaming or amusementdevices.

The gaming or amusement device system normally contains a cashacceptance device (bill acceptor) to convert cash into credits for play.It may also contain a loyalty card system and/or a ticketing system thatincludes a ticket reader and a ticket printer to print tickets when thepatron is ready to “Cash Out” such that the value remaining in thegaming or amusement device can be printed on the ticket with a specialbarcode or system recognizable code for use in another machine or can beredeemed for cash with a cashier or attendant in the specific gaming oramusement facility. Normally, credit is issued on the gaming oramusement device when cash is inserted into the device, or a ticket withvalue on it is read by the device, or a loyalty card is read which canprovide free play, thus allowing the patron to play the game. If apatron is playing on a gaming device and runs out of credit and has nomore cash to put into the gaming or amusement device, the patron isforced to leave the gaming or amusement device in order to find an ATMcash machine, kiosk, or cashier station to withdraw cash and then returnto the gaming or amusement device.

The EFT System contains a secure ATM-like terminal with PIN (PersonalIdentification Number) pad that is Payment Card Industry (PCI), PINEntry Device (PED) certified along with a magnetic stripe and smart cardreader and a display which allows the patron to obtain cash equivalentwithout having to leave and find a ATM machine. The EFT terminal can bean external attachment to the gaming or amusement device or embedded inthe gaming or amusement device. Each EFT terminal is associated with aspecific gaming or amusement device. The process works similar to an ATMprocess.

When the patron swipes his debit card, enters a PIN, and requests aspecific amount to be debited from his account (for a fee), the EFTterminal sends a secured request via a wireless or wired data network,through the EFT system out to a financial network for approval or denialof an ATM debit transaction request. If the transaction request isapproved, the EFT system provides authorized cash value credits to besent back to a host system. The host system initiates and prints aticket with the transferred amount of value, at the specific gamingdevice where the EFT terminal is located. Alternatively, the host systemupdates the patron's loyalty/prepaid debit card account with thetransferred amount of fund. The patron can use the card or ticket on avariety of gaming or amusement devices to receive game credits or redeemthe card or ticket for cash through the authorized gaming or amusementdevice system.

The card and/or ticket validation system is connected to or is incommunication with a card and/or ticket validation network. The cardand/or ticket validation system includes a card and/or ticket validationserver and operator interfaces to enable the operators to redeem cardcredits and/or tickets as well as to monitor card and/or ticketingtransactions. The card and/or ticket validation network enables aplurality of gaming or amusement device processors in the same casino orproperty establishment to communicate with the same card and/or ticketvalidation system.

The ticket reader uses software for reading the barcode of a ticket, andafter reading the barcode, the ticket reader passes the barcodeinformation to the processor of the gaming or amusement device. Thegaming or amusement device then forwards the barcode information to theticket validation system via the ticket validation network to verify itsauthenticity. After verifying the authenticity, the ticket validationsystem presents an authorization to the gaming or amusement device forthe ticket amount, via the ticket validation network, and the gamingdevice in turn adds credits to its credit meter in the amount authorizedby the ticket validation system. Finally, the gaming or amusement deviceinstructs the ticket reader to retain the used ticket internally so thatit is not returned to the presenter.

The ticket validation network is thus preferably a local area network.This local area network, in turn, is connected to or is in communicationwith a secure payment gateway that validates electronic fund requests.The gaming devices are also equipped with EFT terminals (electronicfunds transfer ATM units) that control a card reader, a secure PCIcertified PIN Pad and a display for enabling a patron to enter thepatron's account number, transaction type (i.e., credit or debit),desired transfer amount and personal identification number (PIN). Thedisplay prompts the patron for such information and informs the patronof fund request approvals and rejections. A printer may be attached toprint out a receipt for evidence of the transaction.

The present invention enables the patron to enter the required fundtransfer information, (which can include the PIN, transaction type, andthe transfer amount.) The request is processed and, if approved, theplayer receives a cash equivalent ticket in the amount of the requestedtransfer or the gaming device is credited with the approved amount. Thiseffectively emulates every step that an ordinary ATM does except theoutput is a ticket or credited credits to a specific gaming deviceinstead of cash. The cash equivalent ticket is redeemable for cashthrough a ticket redemption machine, cashier station, or kiosk, or forplacing credits into a gaming or amusement device that has a card and/orticket reader. The present invention therefore provides time for thepatron to confirm the patron's decision to withdraw the money. Thepatron can choose to not spend the money, to wager the money, or tospend it in a non-gaming fashion.

The patron can also remove money from their debit card accounts on onemachine with the idea of playing the money or credit/ticket at anothermachine. This enables machines that accept patron cards or tickets, butnot debit cards, to accept funds from a debit card transaction. Further,by communicating through the gaming or amusement device host system tothe printer that already exists in a gaming or amusement device, thecost of a separate ticket printer is eliminated. Having one printerinstead of two reduces the number of printer rolls that the gamingestablishments have to stock and reload.

The processor of the gaming or amusement device is still connected to orin communication with the ticket reader/validator and is responsible forverifying validity of the ticket. The EFT system communicates a requestto the card and/or ticket system which after authorization of fundstransfer, provides credits associated to the card or prints a ticketwith a barcode from the gaming or amusement device.

In operation, the patron withdraws money by inserting a payment cardinto a specific EFT terminal associated with a specific gaming device,selects payment transaction type and account from which he iswithdrawing funds, accepts any service charge fees associated with thetransaction, and enters a PIN number and an amount The transactionrequest then goes out through the network to which the EFT terminal isconnected (wireless or wired) to the secure payment gateway of the EFTsystem, which transmits the request through the financial network toprocess the transaction request, which returns an appropriate responseover the financial network back to the secure payment gateway, whichroutes a specific response back through the appropriate network to thespecific EFT terminal assigned to a specific gaming or amusement deviceor location.

If the patron's money transfer request is approved, the specific EFTterminal will get a message like “Transaction Approved, Please wait forTITO Ticket to be Printed”, or the gaming device is automaticallycredited with the approved amount requested, and it may also print out aseparate receipt “evidence” for the ATM transaction from a separatethermal printer as part of the EFT terminal, simultaneously the securepayment gateway of the EFT system communicates to a funds managementportal (gaming or amusement gateway) of the EFT system, to specify whichspecific gaming or amusement device successfully withdrew how muchmoney. The funds management portal then communicates with the slot,table or amusement host system for the specific gaming or amusementdevice printer to print a ticket for the patron, which the patron canuse with any gaming device that will accept such a ticket, or credit thegaming device automatically with approved amount requested. The patroncan alternatively redeem the ticket for cash, or request a ticket forthe credits.

If the patron's money transfer request is denied for whatever reason,the secure payment gateway of the EFT system will simply send a denialmessage back to the EFT terminal and request either a different PIN orpayment card, or for the patron to cancel and exit the transaction.

Alternative to printing a ticket, the EFT System may tie directly intothe credit system of the gaming machine, thereby eliminating one morestep of printing and reinserting the ticket back into the machine toplay. The patron can simply continue playing with the new creditreceived, or it can hit the “Cash Out” button for the printer to printthe ticket, or transfer the funds directly back to the patron'sfinancial account.

Alternative to printing tickets, the value can also be transferred bythe EFT system from the patron's financial account into a stored valueplayer card. The player card can be used in the gaming or amusementdevice to transfer stored value into credits in the gaming or amusementdevice, and “Cash Out” back into the player card. Traditional playercards today are typically loyalty cards only and do not contain a storedvalue aspect that can allow the patron to use the card in an open loopenvironment to shop or dine anywhere that accepts Visa or Master Card.The proposed invention allows a loyalty card to be coupled with aprepaid debit card into one player card. By allowing a transfer of fundsfrom one's financial account to a player card via the EFT System, thepatron can securely use his player card and obtain reward points fromthe gaming or amusement establishment while the gaming or amusementestablishment has a way to maintain loyalty and get to know its patrons'habits better.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic fund transfer (EFT) system 100includes gaming devices 101, 102, 103, gaming credit systems 105 a, 105b, 105 c, a gaming host system 140, EFT devices 110, a secure paymentgateway 120 and a funds management portal 130. Host system (or CasinoManagement System) 140 is connected to the gaming credit systems 105 a,105 b, and 105 c via a local network. Each gaming credit system 105 a,105 b, and 105 c is also connected to a printer 106, 107, or 108,respectively, for printing tickets. EFT terminals 110 are placed in thesame locations as the gaming devices 101, 102, 103. EFT terminals 110communicate with the ATM networks 150 via a network connection. Allcommunications between the EFT terminals 110 and the ATM networks 150pass through the secure payment gateway 120. The ATM networks 120provide connections to the patron's financial accounts 151, 152, 153from where the funds are withdrawn. In one example, the financialaccount is a bank account. In other examples, financial accounts areonline bank accounts, investment account, business, accounts, creditlines, credit card accounts, debit card accounts, or PayPal accounts,among others. Examples of ATM networks include PLUS, STAR, CIRRUS,INTERLINK, MONEY PASS, among others. The fund transfer is communicatedback to the secure payment gateway 120 via the ATM networks 150 and thesecure payment gateway 120 transmits the fund transfer to the fundsmanagement portal 130. The funds management portal 130 receives the fundtransfer confirmation from the secure payment gateway 120 and sends itto the gaming host system 140. The gaming host system 140 then transmitsthe funds to the appropriate gaming credit system 105 a, 105 b, or 105 cthat was designated by the patron.

Referring to FIG. 2, the funds management portal 130 includes a database135, firewalls 131 and 136, interfaces 132 and 134, and an operatorpatron application 137. Firewall 131 is located between the fundsmanagement portal 130 and the secure payment gateway 120. Firewall 136is located between the funds management portal 130 and the gaming hostsystem 140. Interface 132 is for communications between the fundsmanagement portal 130 and the secure payment gateway 120. Interface 134is for communications between the funds management portal 130 and thegaming host system 140. Database 135 includes encrypted data for eachtransaction 133. The transaction data include a transaction ID, a gamingcredit system ID, a gaming device ID, patron's name, transaction value,date, and time.

Referring to FIG. 3, an EFT terminal 110 includes a display 112, akeypad/PIN entry 114, a payment card reader 116, connectivity modules118, a printer and/or printer ports 119, and EFT applications 115. Thepayment card reader may be a smart card reader, magnetic card reader,contactless card reader, proximity mobile payments reader that enablescommunication with smart phone devices or contactless proximity cardreader that processes secure smart ticketing and electronic paymentsusing contactless secure mobile commerce technology. EFT applications115 include applications that identify the gaming credit system andgaming device associated with the EFT terminal, ATM network, type oftransaction, amount to be transferred, date, time and name of patron.

Referring to back FIG. 1, one or more EFT terminals 110 interact withthe secure payment gateway 120 via network connections 111. The securepayment gateway 120 is in contact with the patron's bank accounts 151,152, 153, via the ATM/Debit networks 150. The ATM networks 150 areconnected to the secure payment gateway 120 via a single, secure, accesscontrolled connection 160.

EFT terminals 110 are usually handheld remote communication devices onwhich the application patron interface is executed. Examples of handheldcommunication devices include terminals, mobile phones, personal digitalassistant (PDA), payment modules, and portable computers, among others.In other embodiments EFT terminals 110 are not handheld devices and maybe a personal computer, server or any other computing circuits. EFTcomponents for use with gaming systems may also be an externalattachment or embedded in a slot machine or amusement device. EFTterminals may also include remote/mobile/handheld system components orterminals assigned to table games and parlor games. Table game-specifictethered processing terminals may include embedded swipe componentsfitted to seated game stations in race and sports book, keno and bingooperations, or swipe components embedded into mobile handheld games.

Secure payment gateway 120 is a single, secure pipeline through whichthe ATM networks 150 and the EFT terminals 110 communicate. EFTterminals 110 are able to contact only secure payment gateway 120 andsecure payment gateway 120 controls the communications between the ATMnetworks 150 (and its potentially sensitive or proprietary data) andthose EFT terminals that wish to use it. This enables authentication ofthe EFT terminal and application as well as encryption and securetransmission of network requests from the EFT terminal 110.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, EFT terminal 110 includes an operatingsystem or managed code environment 1100 in which application player 1110is executed. The managed code environment 1100 is in contact with devicedrivers 1200. Device drivers 1200 are any hardware access layer modulesthat allow the player 1110 to access peripheral devices such as cardreaders 116 or printers 119. Application player 1110 is in contact withbrowser configuration components 1400 and an offline application cache1300 with its associated offline application data 1310. The applicationplayer 1110 requests functionality from the secure payment gateway 120through XML messages embedded in Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)requests and then interprets the XML messages it receives embedded inSOAP responses from secure payment gateway 120. The application player1110 has access to a local list of ATM networks it is authorized torequest and relevant security keys and settings. The secure paymentgateway 120 includes a server-side intermediary 3400 that receives theXML messages embedded in SOAP requests from the player 1110 and sends tothe player 1110 XML messages embedded in SOAP responses. As mentionedabove, the format of communications between the application player 1110and the server-side intermediary 3400 is XML and the communicationconnection is via a SOAP interface 2100.

In one example, the managed code environment 1100 is a Small TechnicalInteroperability Platform Virtual Machine (STIP VM). Other examples ofthe managed code environment 1100 include Java 2 Platform Micro Edition(J2ME), .NET and Flash Lite, among others. Operating environment 1100provides a way for the player 1110 to access operating system resources.The managed code environment 1100 executes the application player 1110,which is in contact with browser configuration components 1400 and anoffline application cache 1300 with its associated offline applicationdata 1310. Offline application cache 1300 is a set of applications (XMLfiles) that this player instance has downloaded. Offline data cache 1310is the set of stored web service calls that each application has savedfor later execution on the application server host. These stored webservice calls enable the offline functionality. Browser ConfigurationComponents 1400 is a set of device-specific parameters that the player1110 and its applications use to tailor the patron's experience ofapplications. These configuration components are locally storedname-value pairs that can be managed both locally and remotely via theserver 3000. Examples of browser configuration parameters include,maximum size of the offline cache, auto-player-update on/off,auto-application-update on/off, and debug logging on/off, among others.

Referring again to FIG. 4, secure payment gateway 120 includes aserver-side intermediary or gateway web service 3400 through which allcommunications to and from the EFT terminals 110 pass. The server-sideintermediary 3400 has access to a database with a table that associatesGlobal Unique Identifiers (GUIDs) with the remote ATM networks. TheGateway web service 3400 comprises one or more server-side machines thatact as intermediaries between the EFT terminals 110 and the applicationservers 4000 which host the ATM networks that provide bank accountaccess to the EFT terminals 110. These one or more server-side machinesinclude a load-balancing intermediary 3410, a SOAP message cache 3420, apolicy intermediary 3430 and an entitlement module 3440. Theload-balancing intermediary 3410 is designed to facilitate the demandsof numerous EFT terminals 110 simultaneously by dispatching requestsevenly among the various server-side machines that comprise the securepayment gateway 120. The SOAP Message Cache 3420 is a queue of SOAPmessages to be executed by the server whose results will typically bepassed back to an EFT terminal 110. The policy intermediary 3430 ensuresthat only authorized patrons on authorized EFT terminals can access therequested ATM networks and bank accounts. The entitlement module 3440controls the access that a request has to the resources it desires. Finegrained web service access control is enabled by this entitlementmodule.

The Gateway web service 3400 is in communication with an applicationdatabase 3100, an application store and cache 3200, a management UI3300, an application registration service 3500, a remote call handler3600 and an API handler 3700. The application database 3100 includes aset of application XML files representing the currently availableapplications in the system. The application database 3100cross-references Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDS) sent by the clientapplication player 1110 with the XML patron interface of the requestedATM network and bank account. The application store and cache 3200 is aninterface into the application database 3100 that conforms to theUniversal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI) discoverystandards for machine readable service functionality discovery.Management Patron Interface (UI) 3300 is a set of web applicationscreens that allow data center administrators to control the use of thesystem, for example, allowing or disallowing access to a particular ATMnetwork, or promoting an application from test to production. TheApplication Registration Service 3500 is the module that allows thedeveloper to publish an application from the Integrated DevelopmentEnvironment (IDE). The remote call handler 3600 executes properlyauthenticated web service calls and the Application Program Interface(API) handler 3700 is an interface that external services 5000 (likepayment processors) implement in order to be accessed from within thesystem.

Secure payment gateway 120 securely handles interaction between the EFTterminals 110 and the application servers 4000 which host the ATMnetwork web services that provide access to the patron's financialaccounts, and between the EFT 110 and any supporting applications 5000.All data processing and other calculations and manipulations areexecuted by ATM network web services hosted on application servers 4000.The patron's experience on the EFT terminal 110 comprises only displayof an XML patron interface and subsequent display of applicationresults, also received in the form of XML.

Secure payment gateway 120 provides a single, secure, access-controlledand actively managed channel from the application running on the EFTterminal to the (one or more) ATM network web services. Since the player1110 communicates only with the secure payment gateway 120, applicationsrunning on the EFT terminal 110 cannot connect with unauthorized webapplications and are therefore secure. The system is secure along alllinks via the use of industry standard link encryption and accesscontrolled at all interfaces via the use of industry-standard patronauthentication. Link encryption refers to communications securityprotocols that encrypt and decrypt all traffic at each end of acommunications line. Examples of industry standard link encryptionsinclude secure HTTP (S-HTTP), web-services security (WS-S) and WaySystems Secure mobile application platform (WS-SMAP), among others.Patron authentication refers to the process of establishing orconfirming the digital identity of a patron or device such as the EFTterminal 110 or the servers 4000 and 5000. Examples of industry standardpatron authentication include WS-S, lightweight directory accessprotocol (LDAP) and proprietary device authentication, among others.

Secure payment gateway 120 provides fine-grained access control over webservice (WS) access organized by remote-patron and remote-device thatspans multiple WS hosts and organizations and requires noinstrumentation of the individual web services. As was mentioned above,secure payment gateway 120 maintains access-control lists that relatepatrons and EFT terminals to individual ATM network web services andprovide for granting and denying access by those patrons to thoseservices. These lists contain the unique combination of GUIDS and theidentity of remote ATM network web services available to the EFTterminals 110.

A key feature of application security best-practice is the concept ofnon-repudiation. Non-repudiation is defined as the ability of acomponent to prove that a particular action of that component was drivenby an interaction with another component rather than by some invisible,internal process of that component. The key enabler of non-repudiationis auditing, the storage of a trail of actions and data that can easilybe used to reconstruct the interactions of the components of the system.The secure payment gateway 120 provides a complete audit trail of theinteraction of ATM network web services with the remote EFT terminals110, thus ensuring non-repudiation. This audit trail identifies the EFTterminal, the patron, and the details of the underlying remoteconnection to the terminal. In one implementation, fine-grained accesscontrol and auditing enable the secure payment gateway 120 to billpatrons at an equally fine-grained level. This enables tiered service byenterprises implementing the system where patrons can be billed forindividual calls within a session rather than at the more coarse systemof billing for time spent within the application.

In operation, a patron starts the application player 1110 on the EFTterminal 110. The application player 1110 consults first the offlineapplication cache 1300 and presents a list of those applications whichthis EFT terminal 110 and patron are authorized to execute. Referring toFIG. 5 and FIG. 6, if the EFT terminal 110 and the secure paymentgateway 120 are both actively connected to the network, the processincludes the following steps. First, a patron slides a debit card in theEFT terminal (401). This action starts an application player (AP) in theEFT device and the AP sends a SOAP request to the secure payment gatewayintermediary server (IS) to connect with the ATM network of the bankaccount associated with the debit card (402). The IS checks a databaseand if this is an acceptable debit card it sends a SOAP response to theEFT terminal containing the patron interface (UI) of the bank accountassociated with the debit card (403). The UI requests a patron name anda PIN, the patron enters his patron name and PIN and the information issent to the IS (404). Next, the IS sends to the debit network server arequest containing a GUID for the bank account associated with the debitcard, the patron's bank account information, and the patron's PIN (405).The debit network server forwards the received information to thespecified bank server (406) and the bank server confirms access to thesecure payment gateway IS via the debit network (407). The securepayment gateway IS confirms access to EFT and the UI presents allavailable transactions (408). Examples of the available transactionsinclude fund transfer, withdrawal, deposit and balance inquiry, amongothers. The patron selects a desired transaction and enters thetransaction details in the corresponding UI fields. The AP then sends aSOAP request to IS with the requested transaction (409). Typicaltransaction details include, amount, currency, gaming device, amongothers. The IS receives the SOAP request, determines appropriate debitnetwork server for the requested transaction and sends the request tothe debit network server (410). The debit network server transmits therequest to the appropriate bank server (411) and the bank serverprocesses the requested transaction, sends (or receives) the requestedfunds and a transaction confirmation to the IS via the ATM network(412). Next, the IS sends the transaction confirmation to the EFTterminal (413) and the transaction details and funds to the fundsmanagement portal (414). The funds management portal checks its databasefor the appropriate gaming device/ticket printer and transfers thetransaction details and funds to the appropriate gaming device/ticketprinter via the host system (415). The host system then transmits thefunds to a gaming credit system and a ticket printer associated with theappropriate EFT terminal and the printer prints a ticket with therequested amount (416). The patron receives the printed ticket with thecredited funds and uses it in the gaming device or cashes it out (417).

A typical network connection between secure payment gateway intermediaryserver (IS) 120 and the external web services is HTTPS/TCP/IP over thepublic Internet. Other examples of physical networks supported include,GSM, iDEN, D-AMPS, cdmaOne, PDC, CSD, PHS, GPRS, HSCSD, WiDEN, CDMA20001xRTT, EDGE, W-CDMA, UMTS, FOMA, CDMA2000 1xEV, TD-SCDMA, UMA, HSUPA,HSUPA, SONET, Ethernet, Ethernet V2, X.21, and ISDN, among others.

Other implementations of the invention may replace the SOAP 2100 withAction Script Message Format (AMF) 2200 or SMAP 2300. SOAP interface2100 is one of the potential mechanisms by which the player and servercommunicate. Only one of 2100, 2200 or 2300 is used in any playerdeployment. SOAP is an object oriented Remote Procedure Call (RPC)formatted in XML. AMF 2200 is another communication protocol, currentlyfavored by Macromedia Flash. SMAP 2300 is a communication protocolproprietary to Way Systems that includes transport layer and applicationlayer functionality (i.e., authentication).

Several embodiments of the present invention have been described. Whilethe disclosure has been described with reference to an exemplaryembodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings without departing from the essential scopethereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited tothe particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated forcarrying out this disclosure.

I claim:
 1. A system for stored value transactions in a gamingenvironment, the system comprising: (A) at least one gaming or amusementdevice; (B) a financial account associated with a patron; (C) a player'scard account issued by a casino operator and associated with the patron,said player's card account different from the financial account, (D) asecured network associated with the financial account; (E) a securedfirst computing device communicatively connected to the secured networkassociated with the financial account; (F) an electronic funds transferterminal certified for use in an electronic funds transfer system inexclusive secured communication with the secured first computing device;(G) secured second computing device in secured communication with thesecured first computing device; (H) a secured local host networkcommunicatively connected to the secured second computing device; and(I) a casino management system administered by the casino operator andin secured communication with the secured second computing device;wherein the system is configured to: (a) accept instructions from thepatron to purchase gaming or amusement credits suitable for use with theat least one gaming or amusement device via an electronic funds transferat the electronic funds transfer terminal; (b) communicate an electronicfunds transfer request from the electronic funds transfer terminal viathe secured first computing device to the secured network associatedwith the financial account; (c) receive from the secured networkassociated with the financial account via the secured first computingdevice a transfer of electronic funds at the secured second computingdevice; (d) communicate an authorization from the secured secondcomputing device to the casino management system via the secured localhost network to dispense gaming or amusement credits to the patron; and(e) credit, by the casino management system, the patron's player's cardaccount in the amount of the electronic funds transfer as a storedvalue.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the player's card account isuniquely identified by a single card issued by or on behalf of thecasino operator which also comprises stored value capability.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein the single card further comprises a Visa,MasterCard, or ATM card.
 4. The system of claim 2 wherein the casinomanagement system is further configured to credit the patron's player'scard account in the amount of the electronic funds transfer less anyfees applicable to the electronic funds transfer.
 5. The system of claim2 wherein the casino management system is further configured to creditthe patron's player's card account in the amount of the electronic fundstransfer plus any reward points applicable to the electronic fundstransfer.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the player's card account isuniquely identified by a single card issued by or on behalf of thecasino operator which also comprises a pre-paid debit card.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6 wherein the player's card account comprises a Visa,MasterCard, or ATM card.
 8. The system of claim 6 wherein the casinomanagement system is further configured to credit the patron's player'scard account in the amount of the electronic funds transfer less anyfees applicable to the electronic funds transfer.
 9. The system of claim6 wherein the casino management system is further configured to creditthe patron's player's card account in the amount of the electronic fundstransfer plus any reward points applicable to the electronic fundstransfer.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein the casino management systemis further configured to credit the patron's player's card account inthe amount of the electronic funds transfer less any fees applicable tothe electronic funds transfer.
 11. The system of claim 1 wherein thecasino management system is further configured to credit the patron'splayer's card account in the amount of the electronic funds transferplus any reward points applicable to the electronic funds transfer. 12.A method for stored value transactions in a gaming environment, themethod comprising: (A) providing at least one gaming or amusementdevice; (B) providing a secured first computing device; (C) providing anelectronic funds transfer terminal certified for use in an electronicfunds transfer system and in exclusive secured electronic communicationwith the secured first computing device; (D) using the electronic fundstransfer terminal at the at least one gaming or amusement device toprovide instructions for transferring electronic funds from a financialaccount; (E) generating a request for an electronic funds transfer bythe electronic funds transfer terminal; (F) securely communicating therequest for an electronic funds transfer from the electronic fundstransfer terminal to the secured first computing device; (G) securelycommunicating the request for an electronic funds transfer from thesecured first computing device to a financial server associated with thefinancial account via a network associated with the financial server;(H) securely receiving an electronic funds transfer from the financialserver via the network associated with the financial server at thesecured first computing device; (I) securely communicating theelectronic funds transfer from the secured first computing device to asecured second computing device; (J) generating an authorization todispense gaming or amusement credits suitable for use with the at leastone gaming or amusement device to the patron by the secured secondcomputing device; (K) securely communicating the authorization todispense the gaming or amusement credits to the patron from the securedsecond computing device to a casino management system operative withinthe gaming environment; and (L) applying, by the casino managementsystem, the gaming or amusement credits to a player's card accountassociated with the patron as a stored value, said account differentfrom the patron's financial account.
 13. The system of claim 12 whereinthe player's card account is uniquely identified by a single card issuedby or on behalf of the casino operator which also comprises stored valuecapability.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the single card comprisesa Visa, MasterCard, or ATM card.
 15. The system of claim 13 wherein thecasino management system applies credits to the player's card account inthe amount of the electronic funds transfer less any fees applicable tothe electronic funds transfer.
 16. The system of claim 13 wherein thecasino management system applies credits to the player's card account inthe amount of the electronic funds transfer plus any reward pointsapplicable to the electronic funds transfer.
 17. The system of claim 12wherein the player's card account is uniquely identified by a singlecard issued by or on behalf of the casino operator which also comprisesa pre-paid debit card.
 18. The system of claim 17 wherein the singlecard comprises a Visa, MasterCard, or ATM card.
 19. The system of claim17 wherein the casino management system applies credits to the player'scard account in the amount of the electronic funds transfer less anyfees applicable to the elecronic funds transfer.
 20. The system of claim17 wherein the casino management system applies credits to the player'scard account in the amount of the electronic funds transfer plus anyreward points applicable to the electronic funds transfer.
 21. Thesystem of claim 12 wherein the casino management system applies creditsto the player's card account in the amount of the electronic fundstransfer less any fees applicable to the electronic funds transfer.electronic funds transfer.
 22. The system of claim 12 wherein the casinomanagement system applies credits to the player's card account in theamount of the electronic funds transfer plus any reward pointsapplicable to the electronic funds transfer.
 23. The method of claim 12wherein the amount of the gaming or amusement credits credited to theplayer's card account as a stored value is equal to (a) the amount ofthe request generated by the electronic funds transfer terminal, (b) theamount of the request generated by the electronic funds transferterminal less any applicable fees, (c) the amount of the requestgenerated by the electronic funds transfer terminal plus any rewardpoints, or (d) the amount of the request generated by the electronicfunds transfer terminal less any applicable fees plus any reward points.24. A system for purchasing credits in a gaming or amusementenvironment, the system comprising: (A) at least one gaming or amusementdevice; (B) a secured first computing device with exclusive systemaccess to a secured network associated with a financial account of apatron; (C) an electronic funds transfer terminal certified for use inan electronic funds transfer system separate from, but in securedexclusive communication with, the secured first computing device; (D) asecured second computing device comprising a database in securecommunication with the secured first computing device; and (E) aplayer's card account issued by a casino operator and associated withthe patron, said player's card account different from the financialaccount, wherein the system is configured to: (a) communicate a requestto purchase gaming or amusement credits originating from the electronicfunds transfer terminal to the secured network via the secured firstcomputing device, b) receive an electronic fund transfer authorizationfrom the secured network at the secured first computing device, (c)communicate said authorization from the secured first computing deviceto the secured second computing device, and (d) cause gaming oramusement credits suitable for use with the at least one gaming oramusement device to be credited to the player's card account as a storedvalue.
 25. The system of claim 24 wherein the player's card account isassociated with a physical instrument issued by or on behalf of thecasino operator which also comprises stored value capability.
 26. Thesystem of claim 25 wherein said physical instrument comprises a Visacard, MasterCard, ATM card, or a pre-paid debit card.
 27. The system ofclaim 24 wherein the amount of the gaming or amusement credits creditedto the player's card account as a stored value is equal to (a) theamount of the request originating from the electronic funds transferterminal, (b) the amount of the request originating from the electronicfunds transfer terminal less any applicable fees, (c) the amount of therequest originating from the electronic funds transfer terminal plus anyreward points, or (d) the amount of the request originating from theelectronic funds transfer terminal less any applicable fees plus anyreward points.